The Sage of Bra 2

Tomorrow you¹ll go past and through some interesting places.
Just out of Piombino, you¹ll go past some of the bathing resorts I
frequent when I stay in
Suvereto, after which, halfway up the hills to your left, you¹ll see the
village
of Riotorto, the ³Stalingrad of the Maremma², where there are still
hard-line
Communists who refer to St Petersburg as Leningrad. Further down, you¹ll go
past
Follonica, where Luciano Moggi¹s mother lives, and the upmarket resorts of
Punta Ala and Castiglione della Pescaia (where Ducasse has a restaurant
which
he markets as his take on the traditional Tuscan trattoria). A little
further
on, Gavorrano is an old mining town, one of several in the area.
After Grosseto, you¹ll get a great view of the Maremma National Park to
your right, whie to the left are the wine hills of Scansano and Montiano,
where they make the wonderful, much underrated Morellino.
Further on, on a cliff overlooking the sea to your right, you’ll see
Talamone, which, as I
mentioned, is where Garibaldi stopped with his Thousand on the way to
Marsala ­
to pick up rifles, as I recall ­ and where Trapattoni has his summer
villa. Then
you turn off onto the Tombolo della Giannella, where you¹ll go past Bagno
Florida, the bathing establishment.
The ferries for Giglio depart from the port that you find on your right,
just as you enter
Porto Santo Stefano. Remember to contact Francesco Carfagna, better known
as ³El
Cabezon² to let him know roughly when you¹ll be arriving. That way he¹ll
meet
you at the harbor with his Fiat 500 – and I bet he won¹t be wearing any
socks.
All the best,
J